ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - New Year, New Raptors?!

The Bard College men's basketball team continued to grow in 2018, as the hosts defeated Clarkson University, 61-59 Saturday afternoon, for their second Liberty League win in as many days. 

The Raptors nailed 8-of-10 free throws during the final minute of the game, as they held off a late charge by the Golden Knights.

Bard (4-7, 2-2 Liberty League) held the advantage nearly all afternoon. The Raptors lead for nearly 37 minutes in the game, while Clarkson (4-7, 0-4 LL) was only able to lead for 26 seconds total.

The hosts opened the first half shooting the rock well from three point range, as three of their first four baskets came from downtown.

However, neither side could pull away from the other during the opening minutes. Bard was finally able to put distance between itself and the visitors, thanks to a 14-0 run, which was fueled by a layup and four straight three pointers.

The run put Bard up 29-14, but the hosts entered halftime with just a 32-24 advantage.

In the second half, Clarkson stayed right with the Raptors, as neither side held a double-digit lead in the half.

The Golden Knights slowly chipped away at Bard's advantage, until they finally grabbed it with just 49 seconds remaining, going up 54-53, thanks to a Matt Higgins (South Glens Falls, NY) three pointer.

The Raptors weren't fazed however. Freshman Justyn Rogers displayed senior-esqe poise late, as he converted 6-of-6 free throw attempts over the final 41 seconds, which put Bard in front 59-54 with 12 seconds left.

On the ensuing Clarkson possession, Higgins nailed another clutch three pointer to cut the lead to just two points, before the visitors fouled David Runcie, who made 1-of-2 foul shots to put the Raptors up, 60-57 with five seconds to go. 

To erase any chance of a game-tying three pointer, Bard head coach Adam Turner instructed his team to foul right away on the ensuing possession. Clarkson nailed both free throws to cut the lead down to just a point with two seconds to go.

The Raptors inbounded quickly, before being fouled almost immediately. Freshman Alijah Rue hit 1-of-2 free throws for the Raptors to push the advantage back up to two points, 61-59, leaving Clarkson with a desperation heave with one second to go.

The Golden Knights used a trick inbounding play that nearly worked, until Rogers got his hand in at the last second to knock the ball out of bounds with 0.5 remaining on the clock in the front court. 

Clarkson used a couple of screens down low to get a man open for an attempted lob tip-in out of the inbounding play, but the ball was underthrown, allowing Runcie to jump up and knock it away to secure the win for the Raptors. 

Bard's starting five finished with one of its best collective scoring outputs of the season, as the five recorded 55 of the 61 total points. Rogers led the group with 15 points, Emmanuel Oyakhilome scored 11 points, Rue and Jelani Bell-Isaac each tallied 10 points and Runcie chipped in nine points. 

Clarkson' scoring on the otherhand, was a one-man show. Higgins finished with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals. No other Golden Knight scored more than seven points. 

Up next for the Raptors will be a weekend road trip to take on two more Liberty League foes. On January 12th, the team will play Hobart College at 8 p.m., before traveling to Troy to take on RPI at 4 p.m. on January 13th. You can follow both of those contests right here.